Definition of hiatus
1a : a break in or as if in a material object : gap the weedy hiatus between the town and the railroad — Willa Cather the hiatus between the theory and the practice of the party — J. G. Coltonb biology : a gap or passage in an anatomical part or organ
2a : an interruption in time or continuity : break; especially : a period when something (such as a program or activity) is suspended or interrupted after a 5-year hiatus from writing a summer hiatusb : the occurrence of two vowel sounds without pause or intervening consonantal sound
From the M-W Editors
hiatus was our Word of the Day on 05/13/2012. Hear the podcast!
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Examples of hiatus in a Sentence
The band is making an album again after a five-year hiatus.
steam was rising from an hiatus in the ground
Recent Examples of hiatus from the Web
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Someone should look into putting the franchise on hiatus until James retires.
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After Halliwell's exit, the remaining members announced a hiatus in 2000 and went on to form solo careers.
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Pate, who has played with the LPO since 1996, took up temporary residency with the Houston Grand Opera while the LPO was on post-hurricane hiatus.
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The night will take the place of the annual Rickwood Classic -- on hiatus for a year while historic Rickwood Field undergoes repairs.
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So it will be left to them—and U.S. voters in the 2020 election—whether the U.S.’s exit from Paris dooms it to the same fate as the Kyoto Protocol, or a short hiatus in service of a longer-term global solidarity.
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Summer soon arrives, and the big planets Jupiter and Saturn will entertain evening onlookers, Venus will distract morning dog walkers and Mars starts a season-long hiatus.
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What seemed like a hiatus in the mid-1990s was in fact a fertile time.
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Orman took a long hiatus from boot camp, but returned a few weeks ago and was taken aback by Witherspoon’s kinder, gentler style.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hiatus'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Hiatus comes from "hiare," a Latin verb meaning "to gape" or "to yawn," and first appeared in English in the middle of the 16th century. Originally, the word referred to a gap or opening in something, such as a cave opening in a cliff. In the 18th century, Laurence Sterne used the word humorously in his novel Tristram Shandy, writing of "the hiatus in Phutatorius's breeches." These days, "hiatus" is usually used in a temporal sense to refer to a pause or interruption (as in a song), or a period during which an activity is temporarily suspended (such as a hiatus from teaching).
Origin and Etymology of hiatus
Latin, from hiare to yawn — more at yawn
HIATUS Defined for English Language Learners
hiatus
playDefinition of hiatus for English Language Learners
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: a period of time when something (such as an activity or program) is stopped
Medical Dictionary
hiatus
playMedical Definition of hiatus
: a gap or passage through an anatomical part or organ; especially : an opening through which another part or organ passes (such as the opening in the diaphragm through which the esophagus and vagus nerves pass)
Learn More about hiatus
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See words that rhyme with hiatus Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hiatus Spanish Central: Translation of hiatus Nglish: Translation of hiatus for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of hiatus for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hiatus
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